Proud Mommy & Daddy…

Hey Everyone!

I used to kind of laugh to myself when I would see or hear parents just ‘oooohhhhh and aaaahhhhh’ over their kids telling anyone and everyone who would listen all about how great THEIR baby is.  I found it comical that they would brag about things their kids were doing that I just thought was something kids were SUPPOSED to do at their age.  Well, I get it now and I proudly admit that I am now one of those parents!  Hahaha!  I can’t help it, I don’t think any parent can.  You are just bursting with pride for your baby and all of their little accomplishments and just want to share it with the world!  Even though Aubrey is just developing and going through all of life’s little milestones; Justin and I are incredibly proud of her and amazed by her accomplishments everyday.  So not only is this a blog to catch everyone up on our past two months with the little princess, it is also my time to be one of THOSE parents.  ;)

Ear Piercing

Yes we did it, we put holes in our daughter’s ears…deal with it.  Since before Aubrey was even born, I have been waiting for the day we could pierce her ears and so as soon she was old enough, we took her!  I worked at Claire’s for many years where I did about a million ear piercings; so I wrestled around with the idea of whether or not I wanted to do it myself.  I thought if I did it then I would know everything was clean and done right.  In the end, I decided to just let one of the girls in the mall do it because as much as I wanted this for Aubrey, I couldn’t actually be the one to do it.  It would be hard enough for me to go in and hold her through it all.

So on March 9th, 2011, Justin and I decided to head to Coronado mall to have Aubrey’s ears pierced.  Justin laughed at me because I went into both Claire’s stores at the mall and checked out the girl working their before deciding on which one I would let pierce my daughter’s ears.  When I finally decided who the ‘lucky girl’ would be, we went in and started the paperwork.  I was SO nervous.  The lady was really nice and patient with us and she did a great job.  When she marked the dots on her ears, we discovered that Aubrey has one of Justin’s ears and one of mine; so it was a bit difficult determining if the dots were placed evenly.  Once the dots were where we liked them, I held Aubrey tight and just like that, she had pierced ears!  She cried of course (surprisingly I didn’t) but Daddy scooped her up right away and soothed his little princess down.  She had stopped crying and was just fine before we even left the store. 

What an adventure, but they look great!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grandma & Grandpa Vento

Justin’s Step-Dad recently retired from the Coast Guard and while he and his Mom were making the trip from his station in San Diego back to Corpus Christi, TX they made a slight detour to come see us here in Albuquerque.  We were so happy to have them so Aubrey could meet her Grandpa Vento finally!  She took to him instantly and couldn’t stop staring at him and laughing at all the little noises he made at her.  It was so sweet!  She also got the chance to spend lots of time with her Grandma Vento (who we actually call Nana) and she was sooooo incredibly spoiled…like usual.

While Nana and Grandpa were in town we baptized Aubrey (which I’ll talk about later) and we took her on her very first trip to the zoo!  The weather was beautiful while they were in town, so we thought it would be nice to make a trip out to see the lions and tigers and bears (oh my)!  Aubrey had a great time and I think her favorite was the polar bears.  I think she was entertained by that blue glow from the water when you go underneath; plus it was feeding time when we got there, so a polar bear would jump in every once in awhile.

  

 

 

 

 

 

Baptismal

On March 13th, 2011, we baptized Aubrey Jaye Lopez into the Catholic faith.  We were joined by her Godparents, Eric Perea (my brother) and Kristen McPeek (our friend), Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, cousins and many, many friends.  The ceremony was held at Risen Savior here in Albuquerque.  It was really nice because it was just us and one other family having their baby baptized, so it felt a little more personal.  Aubrey did such a good job and only fussed a little when the priest poured the water over her head.  She looked like such an angel in her little outfit (thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Lopez) and I was kind of sad that she would probably only have the chance to wear it once.  I laughed when we got her ready for church in the morning because the dress was so full and poufy that when Justin’s Mom handed her to me I had to have her wait to make sure I was actually grabbing baby and not just dress!

After the ceremony we had a little reception at Grandma and Grandpa Perea’s house in Corrales.  Aubrey loved it because she was sooooo spoiled with all of the attention from her family and friends.  I don’t think she was put down for even one second that day; everyone just took turns passing her around and holding her.

It was wonderful to have so many of our family and friends there to celebrate another special day with our new little family.  I’ve been a total slacker on sending out ‘thank you’ cards to all of you who gave Aubrey such nice gifts, but please know that we really do appreciate everything.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Swimming

Aubrey is a BIG fan of the bath tub!  She just loves the water and is such a goofball when she is in it!  She is always kicking in the water, cooing and going crazy.  So since she loves the bath so much, we thought why not try taking her to the pool for a swim?  We took her to the West Mesa Aquatic Center in her super cute bathing suit and gave it a try.  She seemed to like it and was very curious and just keeping quiet and looking around at everything.  We swam around a bit and gave her a few dunks and then she was done.  Looking back I laughed because we were only there for about 15 – 20 minutes but total loading and unloading time for this event was about an hour!  ::Sigh:: Kids and their stuff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So that’s about it for now…our little babe is just growing up too fast on us already and its only been 4 months.  We’re enjoying each and every day with her and just having a blast!  It is such a joy to see her grow and change everyday; from those big laughs, rolling over, holding her own bottle and jumping in her bouncer, every day is a new adventure and we’re lovin’ it!

Love,

Justin, Candice & Aubrey

Time Flies…

Once again, time has quickly passed us by again and it’s all just a memory.  Two months have come and gone and Aubrey is growing so fast; while she still mostly eats, poops and sleeps (ha ha), we are really starting to see her personality come out as she crosses every little milestone. She is beginning to see her hands and feet and exploring them with curiosity, she likes to hold her little rings in her gym and seems to be amazed by what happens when she starts swinging her arms around, she seems to recognize more and more people around her and will coo and smile for them and she seems to love listening to music or having someone sing to her. Simply put, she is amazing!

Justin and I have to step back and laugh at ourselves every day because of all the things we are learning and experiencing through parenthood. We’ve found that we’ll do just about anything to get a smile out of her. From dancing to singing to making silly faces, if it makes her smile, we’ll do it (and we’ll continue to do it until it doesn’t work anymore!)! I told Justin the other day that I think we could make our own baby album with all of the songs we’ve made up! It’s funny how the words just come to you even during a horribly dirty diaper changing! “Oh baby! Dirty diaper, dirty diaper! My baby has a poopy diaper and she is so stinky, but I love her cause she is my stinky girl!” Haha!

Like I said earlier, she is also starting to recognize people and shows it by cooing and smiling when she sees them. She smiles when she sees her Daddy come through the door after work and she smiles when you go in her room to get her out of her swing (unless she’s screaming bloody murder because she is hungry…then that is a different story). The other day her Uncle Eric came over to visit and she would not stop cooing and smiling from the second she saw him! It was like she knew exactly who he was and was SUPER happy to see him; she even cried for a little bit when he left. I also get reports that she always smiles for her Grandparents when they watch her for us during the week!

 

My Mom and I were talking about how amazing it is that you can love someone so much in an instant. I was telling her that it is really amazing to see the affect that Aubrey has on people and how she just magically changes them or brings out the best in them. I’ve seen her bring out a side of a person that I’ve never seen before in an instant.  Like I said, SHE’S AMAZING!

As always, I’ll leave you with some more pictures.

Love,

Candice, Justin & Aubrey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Firsts"

Hi Everyone,

Wow! Five weeks have already passed us by since the arrival of our little Aubrey Jaye. It really doesn't seem like that long and I can't believe how fast she is growing. Everyday she looks a little different to me; like she sprouted a little more overnight. One day she fit her newborn clothes and the next day they were all too small. One day she didn't have eyelashes and suddenly I noticed beautiful, dark, long ones as she fluttered her eyes at me while drinking her bottle one night. Her eyes are starting to change from their grey color to a really pretty blue. It's one of the most amazing things to watch her grow and develop and yet I'm already sad to see those days come and go; they're simply a memory and a photo. We've already made some wonderful and amazing memories with our sweet baby girl and she has already celebrated so many 'firsts' in these five weeks of her life.

Our first Christmas and first New Year's celebrations were AMAZING! It was such a blessing and wonderful feeling to have little Aubrey with us. We had all of our family and friends in town and at some point or another Aubrey, Justin and I were able to share a little bit of Christmas with each of them. Aubrey was sooooo incredibly spoiled by all of her family and friends that all of her gifts literally took over our living room! Seriously, I'm NOT kidding! It took Justin and I about a week to sort through everything and find a place for it! Oh and we learned all about how toy companies make their packaging next to impossible to open. Anyways, she received MORE clothes (as if she didn't have enough) and tons of toys that she will be able to enjoy throughout the year. What a lucky girl! We couldn't make it to the mall to visit Santa Claus, so it was such a GREAT surprise on Christmas day when he stopped and made a personal visit with Aubrey!

For New Year's we went to our Aunt Jackie's house and enjoyed a delicious dinner and a relaxing evening. Aubrey didn't make it to midnight (and I almost didn't either) but I think she enjoyed the night being held by all of her family and friends. Oh and she was dressed to break hearts might I add. ;)

It is so exciting to think that this is just the beginning. We have so many more holidays to look forward to sharing with our little girl. Looking back I can think of so many wonderful memories from the holidays and I owe that to my Mom and Dad; they always made every effort to make every holiday special (thanks). I can't wait to do the same for Aubrey and cherish all of those little moments that life has to offer.

Anyways, that's about it for now. I leave you all with a bunch of pictures to look at. Aubrey is such a gorgeous baby that she makes me look like a pro photographer. :)

Love,
Justin, Candice & Aubrey